Well Hello, Miss New Jersey

Our Sunday started early with an 8 a.m. service at the Lakes Lutheran Church. It's a friendly congregation that seems to enjoy having us snowbirds drop in for services.

After church, I changed into my gambling clothes and made a trip to the Suncoast. My friend, Terry, asked me to play a $50 5-team NBA money line parlay for him. When I bought him the ticket, I saw it would pay $317 if all five teams (all favorites) won their games. The casino was pretty quiet, so I left there to hit the Strip.

I made the 30-minute drive to the Strip and parked at Bally's. After checking out Bally's and Paris, I made my way to the Planet Hollywood, site of last night's Miss America contest. The PH was busier than either Paris or Bally's and I found a seat at a $10 blackjack table. I was sitting in the center of the table and playing $10-15 a hand, while a guy at 3rd base was playing $50-100 a hand. Ironically, I was able to win pretty steadily while Mr. Big Bets was not.

After a couple of shoes, I was up $120 and Mr. BB was down probably $300-400. I didn't wait to find out. I happily left with my profit and went to check out the always-tasty PH Buffet.

Near the escalator that leads down to the PH buffet, I saw a group of 3-4 young women. One was wearing a black hoodie with a sequined "Miss New Jersey" across the back.

"Are you really Miss New Jersey," I asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, congratulations and I hope you enjoyed your time in Las Vegas."

"We had a blast," she said before walking away.

I continued down to the buffet and arrived there about 11:30. Surprisingly there were only 3 people ahead of me in line. Lunch began with a plate of shrimp and chicken wings, then a serving of shish-ka-bob chicken, rice and grilled veggies. No room for dessert, though I did eye the chocolate creme pie, LOL.

I didn't want to give back any of my profits, so I went to the PH sports book to watch MSU struggle against Ohio State. The Spartans trailed most of the game, but rallied for the win. About 2:30 I decided to head home, so I walked back through Paris and up to the parking deck. By 3:15 or so, I was back in the apartment where I finished reading "Black Powder, White Smoke," a western novel by Loren Estleman. It's due back at the library tomorrow, so I wanted to finish the last 50 pages today.

Dinner was chili, leftover from last night. Helen and I are now watching TV and relaxing. We're working on a grocery list, because I'll be hitting the local Albertson's for a food run in the morning as the adventure continues...